Whimsy
by xLilim
Summary: A collection of unrelated Firestarter specials written for all occasions. RoyOC
1. Chocolates, Flowers, or Jewelry?

This is one of five one-shots written as part of a Holiday Specials incentive that is severely lacking due to my busy school schedule. Normally, these specials are wordpress-only, but I feel that not many know about them and given that I haven't updated for several weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to bring them over for everyone that hasn't read them to get a chance to do so.

Do consider these AU despite occurring in the same universe as the stories from which they are derived. I generally like to consider a lot of these "what if" scenarios, but a lot of them can fit within the stories (however, I can't add them for craft reasons).

I have also chosen to post them separately from the related stories because it would be too strange to have a sudden break in between events, so I hope you don't mind this.

That said, I hope you enjoy reading them (or this). Also, future specials will be posted as follow-up chapters to their respective entries.

* * *

 **Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy|Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 2115

 **Rating** : T

 **Summary** : Roy and Cecilia discuss Valentine's Day.

 **Author's Comment** : Title and summary changed because these two do whatever they want. I just want them to be like this in Firestarter! They're killing me right now.

 _ **Originally posted on February 14, 2015. Written as a Valentine's Day special.**_

* * *

 **Chocolates, Flowers, or Jewelry?**

"Chocolates, flowers, or jewelry?" asked Roy from his languid seat on the couch. He was draped over it, looking quite appealing with his booted feet kicked up on the coffee table, his blue jacket cast aside and his button down shirt undone a few buttons on the rare occasion that he wore no undershirt. His elbow was propped up on one of the couches' arms, his hand curled into a fist underneath his cheek.

Cecilia hummed, determined to ignore his appearance when she raised her eyes to him from her seat at the table. "What are you saying?"

"What do you prefer? Chocolates, flowers, or jewelry?" he repeated.

"What's the occasion?"

Roy arched an eyebrow with a hint of skepticism. "Valentine's Day."

"Oh, I don't celebrate that." She turned away from him to continue writing down the ingredients she would need to make dinner for Barbara's upcoming birthday party.

"You've never had a man around this time?" asked Roy dubiously.

"No, I usually dump them before Christmas," answered Cecilia. "There is something about the holidays that just oozes serious commitment. Actually, anything beyond the three week period just makes me shudder."

"And yet, here you sit, living in my house, off my paycheck, warming my bed, and proclaiming your love for me on a daily basis," he said pointedly. "We celebrated Christmas, Cee."

"I am _not_ living off your paycheck," she corrected. "I make my own money."

"But you are living in my house, warming my bed, and proclaiming your love for me daily," he stated.

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to cook you a fancy dinner? Should I go out shopping for nice lingerie?"

Roy put his feet down and sat upright. "That would be nice."

"And throw rose petals on the floor and light a few candles to set the mood?" she continued sarcastically.

"Yes, and maybe, maybe you can let me drink wine off your stomach," he added, a sly smile curved his lips. "Eat cake off your breasts? Maybe you can lick syrup off my—"

"We are not doing any of those things with food," she interrupted.

He left his seat and strolled to her side, putting both hands on her shoulders. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to her ear. "Perhaps," he whispered, "you can strip and wait for me at the door naked when I get home."

She shrugged. She could do that. Sounded easy to do if he really wanted to celebrate the stupid holiday.

"With rose petals, candles, and grapes ready in the bedroom." He kissed her cheek lightly, but she ignored his advances, carrying on with her list. "Sound good?"

"Truthfully, I didn't peg you for such a romantic," she admitted, looking over her shoulder at him. "That's so gross it's cute."

He frowned. "Of course, I'm romantic. You'd notice if you paid attention."

"Romantic was the last thing you ever wanted to be with me"—at first sight of his disapproval, she added quickly—"oh, don't make that face, it's the truth." She shrugged his hands off. "I need to get back to this list. I have to make sure I get all the ingredients down. I don't want to come home after buying everything to realize I forgot something. Do you know how frustrating that is? I don't have it in me to deal with that stress along with Barbara's nagging."

Roy took the pen from her hand.

"Hey!" she protested.

"So pick one and we'll be done—chocolates, flowers, or jewelry?"

Cecilia sighed. He wouldn't let her get away with not choosing any of the options and she didn't want to be the type of girlfriend that expected to be showered with gifts. She didn't want to be demanding. She wanted this relationship to be different from the others, so she took special care of it in the hopes that her efforts shaped it for the long term. She needed to avoid answering that question.

She grinned up at him. "Surprise me."

"Touché, Cee."

He kissed her cheek. "I'm going to take a bath." He walked towards the short hallway to the bathroom where he stopped, turning the lights on as he glanced at her. "Do you want to join?"

She shook her head. "I'm busy."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"I'll wash your hair for you."

She pushed her chair back, it scrapped loudly across the floor, and she followed Roy into the bathroom. She wouldn't turn that down and he knew it.

Cecilia kept her eyes closed as Roy's fingers lathered the sweet scented shampoo into her hair. She sat between his legs with hers drawn up to her chest and her fingers drumming over her knees.

"Do you want to do something for the fourteenth?" she asked, relaxing the tension in her shoulders as he massaged the shampoo into her scalp. He was definitely spoiling her and he knew it. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"I know a good restaurant," he said, removing his hands from her hair to pour water over her head. It took another dunk of water to wash the soap from her hair.

She reached for a damp washcloth hanging off the tub's edge and used it to dry her face, opening her eyes. She gathered all of her hair and wrung the water from it.

"A restaurant?"

"We've never gone to a restaurant for dinner," he pointed out. "I think it's about time we did unless you plan to be picky about the food."

"I'm not picky about food."

"Right," he started sarcastically. "You're picky about the preparation of food. I forget."

"Only because it's important to prepare food in the correct manner and under the right circumstances," she said defensively. "You can't just throw bread and ham together and call it a sandwich, it doesn't work like that."

"That's exactly how it works."

"It's all in the ingredients. Fresh ingredients are very important."

Roy took her shoulders and pulled her back flat against his chest before leaning against the other end of the tub.

"I'll save you the trouble of standing vigil at the restaurant's kitchen to make sure our food is prepared to your standards and think of something else to do."

"I don't have standards! If the food is good, then I'll eat it and I won't have a problem with it!"

He wrapped an arm loosely around her neck, resting his hand on her shoulder. "We could go somewhere, a vacation of sorts," he started. "Not on the fourteenth, but next week. We could spend an entire week together not worrying about anything."

"It must be nice being able to dump all of your work on your subordinates and take a few days off, but I don't have the luxury of having underlings," she remarked, raising her right leg over the surface of the water, the surface rippling, and set it against the other end of the tub. "I don't get to go up to my boss and ask him to give me the week off. Do you know how much groveling it took for me to get this job? I'll have you know that I don't make it a habit to do any groveling under any circumstances. I wouldn't feel right asking for time off."

"I can't imagine you groveling," he mused.

Cecilia jerked around to face him. There was a smug look about him, his dark hair smoothed back and a lopsided smile on his lips. "Don't you dare imagine that!"

"Why would I have to imagine that? Now that I think about it you do plenty of groveling when I don't let you come."

" _Oh?_ " She turned around completely, rising on her knees. She took his face into her hands, making him tilt his head back as she lowered her mouth to his. "Do I?"

He tried to close the distance between them, but she moved her thumb across his lower lip, stopping him. "You can sleep on the couch for that," she told him with a charming smile. "You know I don't like to feel embarrassed."

Roy lowered his eyes to her naked chest. "I would never have guessed."

"I'm getting out." She stood and stepped out of the tub, the water sloshing. She grabbed a towel on the way out, wrapping it around her as she walked across the hallway to their bedroom.

Cecilia was pulling out a new change of clothes when she heard Roy's footsteps nearing. He entered the room, approaching her side by their drawers.

"We could stay here for the fourteenth," said Roy, opening the top drawer and rummaging through it before shutting it, keeping on hand behind his back. "Better than a restaurant, wouldn't you agree?"

"I'll be fine with whatever you decide to do." She smiled. "Surprise me."

Roy frowned. "I'm not going to dump you if you ask for anything."

"Nobody said that," she said defensively. Her voice came out a little alarmed by the accusation. "I'm not worried about being dumped."

"You underestimate my feelings for you, Cee," he accused, drawing her to him. "So long as you are not draining my bank accounts, sleeping with sleazy bartenders, or writing a tell all novel about my secret plans, you can be sure that I have no intention of breaking up with you."

Cecilia maintained her cool, despite her reddened cheeks. "You mean to say I can sleep with every other bartender, just not the sleazy ones."

"No, cheating is completely banned."

She lowered her eyes to her feet, but he raised her face by the chin.

"Stop worrying about it." He kissed her chastely. "Good. Do you feel better now?"

She nodded. It was reassurance enough to quell her insecurities.

"Here then," he said, presenting her with a small velvet box he pulled from behind his back. She hesitated, looking from it to his face. "Take it."

Cecilia picked it up. "What is it?"

He grinned. "You wanted to be surprised, didn't you?"

She opened the box, dazzled instantly by the pearl earrings sitting inside. She lifted her eyes, her heartbeat quickened. "Chocolates, flowers, or jewelry?"

"There's more, but you'll have to wait," he said. "Who knows where you'll find another gift." He took one of the pearl earrings from the box and held it up against her ear, looking at it analytically. "I was right, pearls do suit you." The blush on her cheeks slowly spread over the rest of her face. "Even when you're all red it suits you."

Cecilia covered her face with her hands, completely embarrassed by her reaction. "Thank you."

"There is plenty of more jewelry I thought might suit you, but you'd have to come with me," he commented, prompting her to drop her hands. "So? How does this weekend sound? We can find you a nice necklace to go with that, unless you find one around the house one of these days, then we'll just have to get you a bracelet."

"You didn't have to give me anything—"

"I wanted to," he interjected. "I doubt you ever believe a word I'm saying when I proclaim my love for you."

She shook her head, laughing at his playful tone. "I don't."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to being spoiled," he stated. "I understand that you haven't been so fortunate as to have such a handsome, generous boyfriend that is willing to do this much for you, but you'll have to get used to it, as I have gotten used to the idea that I only want to love you."

Cecilia wrapped her hand over the nape of his neck and kissed him. He pressed his hand against the small of her back, pulling her body flush against his.

"I'm not good with gifts," Cecilia admitted, breaking apart to breath. "The watch I bought you for Christmas was Barbara's idea. I had her ask Mr. Fig what men liked as presents."

"I love the watch, Cee," he told her, their noses brushing lightly. "It doesn't matter where you got the idea when the thought was there."

"For Valentine's Day, you'll have to be okay with just me as your gift," she said, noting a glint in his blue gaze. "I'm afraid I'll be too busy to look for anything appropriate to buy you because of Barbara's dinner. I still have so much to do and—"

He pressed his forefinger against her lips, silencing her. "You don't have to get me anything. I just want to spend the day with you, romantic or not."

She embraced him, nodding and feeling fortunate to have met him that awful night at the bar.


	2. Side C

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy|Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 250

 **Rating** : T

 **Author's Comment** : Consider this a preview for the next half of Firestarter. I know I say these are supposed to be unrelated, but I'm a liar, so yeah, what else is new? I'm going to elaborate more in the story itself, but I wanted to do some character exploration with this one.

And, I'm so so sorry for being late with this update. I was feeling a little under the weather and I forgot! O:

If you want to see any couple or character in certain situations from this story, let me know. I'm taking suggestions! If I feel inspired by a suggestion or feel that I can make it work, I'll write them!

 _ **Originally posted on November 26, 2017 for 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on at my wordpress, linked available in my profile, or read the vague explanation under the announcements header on my profile page.**_

* * *

 **Side C**

Cecilia remembers the first time Silas brought her to his house in Central City. She lived inside the library absorbing Wyatt's medical books. Back then, the shelves used to look much taller than they are. They used to hide her in the protective shadows they cast and it felt safe. She can reach the top shelves now and the shadows don't provide the comfort she needs.

The nurse watches her impatient from across the room as Cecilia gathers books. Roy stands at the edge of her memory, at the cusp of yearning, and her body remembers the pain. She opens a book she finds in one of the innermost shelves and wonders if Roy will come find her. She left her secrets behind for him to decipher. She fears his rejection. She loves him so much that if he left her here in Central City, believing the lies Silas weaved, her heart would shatter.

Her heart is broken.

She sits by the window with a stack of books and her mind runs circles back to Roy. The setting sun fills the room with fading reddish light and deepens the shadows of the library. She imagines him leaning against the table staring down at her with a cocksure grin and tries, as soon as he enters her mind, to erase him. She feels pain with his memory, as if her wounds are being reopened and her scars pulled apart centimeter by centimeter.

Darkness engulfs the room, and only then, he leaves.


	3. Side R

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy|Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 100

 **Rating** : T

 **Author's Comment** : I planned to do something as long as the previous piece of short fiction for this one, but I felt a drabble was better if I didn't want to reveal too much. As I said before, these are something like previews to the next part.

Also, I'm very likely going to be going missing for the next 5-10 days because I need to complete my finals, but when I come back, I'll do a mass update of all the days that I missed. :)

If you want to see any couple or character in certain situations from this story, let me know. I'm taking suggestions! If I feel inspired by a suggestion or feel that I can make it work, I'll write them!

 _ **Originally posted on December 3, 2017 for 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on at my wordpress, linked available in my profile, or read the vague explanation under the announcements header on my profile page.**_

* * *

 **Side R**

It becomes easier for Roy to admit he misses her after her death sank deep into his bloodstream.

He exits the bathroom, towel draped over his shoulders, water drying on his skin. He moves into the bedroom and picks up Cecilia's journal from the nightstand as he sits at the edge of the bed. He opens it, slowly flipping through the pages, etching the loops of her handwriting to memory. He reads the words but can no longer string them together to make sense of them.

Once had been enough.

He wouldn't forgive himself for asking any favors past once.


	4. The Tie

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy|Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 100

 **Rating** : M

 **Author's Comment** : On a lighter note...there's this.

There's also a poll up on my profile, so check it out!

If you want to see any couple or character in certain situations from this story, let me know. I'm taking suggestions! If I feel inspired by a suggestion or feel that I can make it work, I'll write them!

 _ **Originally posted on December 8, 2017 for 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on at my wordpress, linked available in my profile, or read the vague explanation under the announcements header on my profile page.**_

* * *

 **The Tie**

Roy opened the slender box to find a plain black tie. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," said Cecilia, taking the tie out of the box. "But today as I walked around the store, I encountered so many lovely ties that I had a thought."

She held it in both hands and held it up to his eyes, obscuring her slightly from his vision. He took her wrists into his hands gently and guided the silk tie over his eyes, aroused by the promise of pleasure.

Cecilia pushed him down into the couch and climbed his lap. "We should enjoy ourselves."


	5. Watch the Clock

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy|Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 500

 **Rating** : T

 **Author's Comment** : I enjoyed the format for this one.

Given that this is the last contribution to the 30DoSF for this story, I'm going to be marking this story as "Completed." That said, feel free to continue to follow it for possible future updates.

 _ **Originally posted on December 15, 2017 for 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on at my wordpress, linked available in my profile, or read the vague explanation under the announcements header on my profile page.**_

* * *

 **Watch the Clock**

05:00

Roy opens his eyes, body too heavy to process the very concept of waking, but his day beings early. His first thought is always of her.

Cecilia, on the other side of town, drools into her pillow having reclined for a nap minutes, leaving Barbara alone in the living room drinking the rest of the wine alone.

11:26

Roy considers his lunch options during a call from a superior, but only briefly. His ambitions are ever present on his mind and as his work hours near the middle, leaving half remaining. Hawkeye notices his distraction. She mentions it later with a comment that reminds him how well his right hand knows him. "You seem excited."

Barbara's noisy hangover jolts Cecilia awake because her best friend is very theatrical with her vomiting. It's never a one-person job, always two. Cecilia holds her hair back and tries to soothe her with words, but Barbara continues to cry into the toilet bowl. She leaves her momentarily to make coffee.

13:14

Roy watches the phone as though expecting a call, but he wonders if it would be appropriate for him to make a call at that hour. Too early or too late. Still he wants to hear her voice, if only for a moment.

Cecilia drops Barbara home to Mr. Fig, who promises to take care of her friend. She believes him. She sits in a diner for breakfast because she craves freshly squeezed orange juice with a platter of fruit. She delights in the sweater arrangements toppled with crème.

21:56

An emergency sets Roy back for an early release, but he attends it without complaint. After he dismisses Hawkeye for the night, he sits idle in his car, staring past the windshield. He checks the time and suspects she's up now.

He sent word about his delay. Cecilia waits wrapped up in a blanket listening to a lively radio station and starts dozing off having only slept so few hours. She feels her excitement in her stomach, starting to bubble.

22:16

Roy finds her sleeping on the couch and he leans down to kiss the top of her head. She doesn't wake. He wants her to rest. Barbara likely kept her up all night. There are empty bottles in the trash. He turns the volume down on the radio before sitting beside her, content with her company alone.

02:45

Cecilia wakes with his name on her tongue and finds him sleeping. She shifts in her seat and rises, holding her lower back. She shakes him to take him to bed.

He kissed her lips and says, "We should see more of each other."

She laughs against his next kiss. "How much more would you deem an appropriate amount?"

"Every hour of every day," he says.

"That's impossible with our hours. I'm far too busy to give up so many hours of my day."

"Just the mornings and nights, then."

She nods. "That we can arrange."

Cecilia goes to sleep thinking of him.


	6. An Empty House

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy/Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 274

 **Author's Comment** : Something short featuring Cecilia and Roy because it has been forever and a day since they've been together.

 _ **Originally posted on December 7, 2018 for my 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on my WordPress, xlilim – link available in my profile.**_

 _ **I am taking suggestions! If you want to see any couple or character from the story in certain situations, let me know. If I feel inspired by the idea, I will write them! You can PM me, leave a review, or comment on the 30DoSF WordPress page.**_

* * *

 _An Empty House_

"I wanted a house by the sea," Cecilia admits, leaning against the wall. She stares out the window to the fence that wraps around the townhouse. "It was the first dream that I thought up. My aunt told us to want things, strive for them. My sister wanted to read all the books in the house. I wanted a house by the sea."

She laughs, avoiding Roy's steady gaze. "It's so stupid. A house by the sea. All my sister wanted was to live, just so she could read, and I wanted a house in front of the sea."

He takes her hands and cradles them in his own. "Did she get to read them?"

Cecilia remembers her sister with a book in her hands reading until she couldn't keep her eyes open. Listening when she no longer had the energy to do it herself, her voice coming out a wheeze. "She tried. The ones she didn't get to were all of my textbooks. All of the medical books that my uncle owned and lent me. I knew those by heart, but she never got to them."

She sighs. She stops herself from getting choked up over the memories tangled up in her brain, but she needs to stop. She berates herself over the silly dream—the one that never came true, that wouldn't. She wishes she had thought of something less selfish.

"In the end, it was just me alone in that empty house," she continues. "Everyone died. Everyone always dies."

He holds her hand tighter. "I won't."

Cecilia brings his hand to her forehead and screws her eyes shut. She believes him.


	7. Lighthouse

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy/Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 288

 **Author's Comment** : I'm re-watching FMA. I don't know if I mentioned, but I'm using the Brotherhood series as a base for the canon rather than the manga (because I don't own all of it–and since they started releasing the new hardcover volumes, which are gorgeous, by the way, I only have 3, so it isn't much to go by yet, but I'm getting off subject). Well, I put Firestarter on hiatus to outline and start writing the second half, which sort of got delayed since I entered the last two quarters of my undergraduate study and I had a lot to worry about, primarily deadlines and a thesis. I started writing Firestarter recently, but with the Holiday season in full blast, I had to set aside writing since work became so busy and I had several days every week in which I was closing so late that I only had time to shower, eat, and sleep before I had to get up and do it all over again.

So, my outline didn't end up getting finished and all of the ideas that I had for the next half of the story are being reconsidered. I'm entertaining new ideas that may result in a very depressing story, but there is still some time before I start to consider whether to implement them or not. Anyhow, the story is not on hiatus anymore, but it might be a bit before a new chapter comes out since I'm behind on my 30 Days of Short Fiction because work continues to be so, so busy. After the Holidays, things are expected to slow down, but I might have to adjust to a new schedule so that may delay things just a teensy bit more. No matter what, the story is coming back. If by some luck before the end of this month or in January-February.

 **TL;DR** In re-watching FMA:B again, I am making unplanned changes to the second half of Firestarter, but the chapter won't be released for some time even though the story is not in hiatus anymore because work has been busy. But, soon.

Until then, enjoy these short pieces to tide you over.

 _ **Originally posted on December 14, 2018 for my 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on my WordPress, xlilim – link available in my profile.**_

 _ **I am taking suggestions! If you want to see any couple or character from the story in certain situations, let me know. If I feel inspired by the idea, I will write them! You can PM me, leave a review, or comment on the 30DoSF WordPress page.**_

* * *

 _Lighthouse_

Roy wonders from time to time if it would have made a difference had they met earlier. Would they have been able to spend more days together? Perhaps, done more than rush through everything that transpired. He thinks about her and the way that she hated him when they first met for the crimes that he carried burrowed like a web of thorn over his organs, wondering if she would have left him after the war.

 _No._ Roy smiles down at her curled body beside him and brushes his knuckles against her naked shoulder. The sheets are tangled between their legs and the chill settles on his perspired skin as he stares at the empty wall across the mattress on the ground, the moonlight peeks through the boarded windows, making the towers of dust rising up sparkle as if they contained flecks of gold. She would have stood by him in his torment and eased the nightmares that plagued him in the night like a beacon from a lighthouse.

However, he reminds himself of an indisputable truth. This foreign princess is his biggest weakness and if anyone so much as touches a hair on her head, he would be at their mercy. Everyone that he considers an enemy is aware of this affair he entertained some time ago and he has kept her a secret for months now, but things have become more dangerous.

No matter how careful they are, it isn't enough. This has to be the end. She needs to go into hiding, but how far would he need to send her until she was safe. Past the desert to Xing? Like Maria Ross? It would not be far enough. There is nowhere to hide her. Not even in plain sight.


	8. We Know Fear in Love

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): None

 **Word Count** : 411

 **Author's Comment** : My Cath is a bundle of insecurities.

 _ **Originally posted on December 19, 2018 for my 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on my WordPress, xlilim – link available in my profile.**_

 _ **I am taking suggestions! If you want to see any couple or character from the story in certain situations, let me know. If I feel inspired by the idea, I will write them! You can PM me, leave a review, or comment on the 30DoSF WordPress page.**_

* * *

 _We Know Fear in Love_

Gracia sits down across Cecilia with an inviting smile that eases her nerves, but if this puts the married woman in any danger, she already regrets it. Nobody followed here. She minded all the rules given to her. She saw no purpose in disobeying them to jeopardize a whole group of people, but she walked out here from so far to catch even the smallest of glimpses and even hear a hint of his voice with a powerful undercurrent beneath every order issued. She picked up the phone because she had been alone in the hotel, unrecognized in her disguise, and feeling utterly alone, like the walls of the reception room were too wide, as if she had been swallowed into the belly of a giant beast.

She remembered Gracia's phone number by some twist of fate. She twisted the dial until she was prompted for connection, and the name she gave was one that she had not used in some time.

She is no longer Cecilia, but to Gracia…that is all she has ever been.

"Thank you for seeing me," says Cecilia. "I know this must have been very forward of me, and I apologize for it. I don't mean to disturb you, I just…"

Gracia shakes her head. "Don't put yourself down, Cecilia. I'm happy to see you again. Have you been well? The last I heard, well, it was quite a shock. Roy was…well, I suppose you could imagine."

Cecilia nods. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I'm only happy that you're doing well," says Gracia, regarding the server that appeared with a pair of menus.

Cecilia asks for a cup of earl gray and Gracia requests a sweetened chamomile blend before returning to the conversation.

"Have you seen him?" asked Gracia.

"No, I, uh"—she lowers her gaze—"I don't want to bother him."

"You won't be. He's been looking everywhere for you. He's been dying to see you, Cee. If there's anything Maes and I can do for you, you know that we would."

"No, don't worry about that, this isn't about that, I just, I guess, I wanted to see someone that knew him, you know?" Cecilia shakes her head and pushes her chair back, it scratches the ground. "No, this is ridiculous, I shouldn't have come."

Gracia reaches out and catches her hand. "We can go somewhere else if you'd like."

"I can't. "

She rushes out of the coffee shop, unable to look back.


	9. Ends

**Story** : Firestarter

 **Pairing** ( **s** ): Roy/Cecilia

 **Word Count** : 132

 **Author's Comment** : Life is good.

 _ **Originally posted on December 27, 2018 for my 30 Days of Short Fiction. For more information on 30DoSF, please refer to the pinned entry on my WordPress, xlilim – link available in my profile.**_

* * *

 _Ends_

Cecilia startles. She heard a bang.

Roy sees it. Smiles. The lights of the fireworks bursting in the sky appear through the window behind her, unfurling like a flower in the sun.

"I wasn't expecting it," she admits, half turning to look outside as more fireworks brighten the sky. "I used to like watching the fireworks with my sister. We liked to have them for our birthdays. We used to sit out all day, just watching them."

"Is this your way of telling me that you want fireworks on your birthday? Should I prepare a whole display?" asks Roy.

"Too obvious?"

"No, just right." Roy stands up and offers her his hand. "Let's go outside and enjoy the end of the show."

Cecilia takes his hand and goes where he guides her.


End file.
